The Chiefs were reportedly one of the most active teams looking into former Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins this year. According to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Kansas City had received permission to talk with the now-free agent earlier in the offseason and spoke with him before the draft.
The biggest hurdle for the Chiefs, as it was for any team Arizona spoke to, was having to take on Hopkins’s existing contract. If a trade were going to take place, Kansas City wanted a lower price, meaning the Cardinals would have to take on some of Hopkins’ contract in the trade.
The Chiefs were fairly big spenders this offseason after making big deals for tackle Jawaan Taylor and defensive end Charles Omenihu, resulting in the exhaustion of most of their salary cap. After their most recent $3M deal for tackle Donovan Smith, the Chiefs are 31st in the league in available cap space, according to Over the Cap.
While adding Hopkins is on anyone’s wish list, except perhaps Arizona’s, Kansas City also doesn’t seem desperate to add any more wide receivers. Despite losing JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman to free agency, the team has real confidence in Kadarius Toney‘s potential. They return Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Skyy Moore and drafted SMU wide receiver Rashee Rice in the second round to compete for snaps with the starters.
However, the Chiefs were not the only team that the Cardinals struggled to find equal ground with on a trade. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, who spoke on "The Pat McAfee Show," Arizona was working to trade the veteran wideout up until the day before the first round of the NFL Draft. The Cardinals hit snags, though, as each discussion required handling of draft-pick compensation and salary adjustments that would require Arizona to take on some of Hopkins’ salary. In the end, they opted to take the hit in the salary cap while ultimately saving cash.
Here are a few more rumors surrounding the still young free agency of DHop:
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